Jock?
160-S10/015E1
Recently I've taken to judging the figurative value of my cameras using Damo's opinion as the prime measure. He is usually quite close to the mark; it was he, for example, who stated that the D1H is "the world's most stupid camera".
A while after that I acquired the F4 with which I made this photograph. It is by no means a small camera; it is equal in size, and pretty close in weight as well, to a Kiev 60. The majority of this size and weight seem to be used for nothing other than storage for motors, and the batteries with which they are driven. Indeed it seems that Nikon carved the body from a block of magnesium alloy and then decided it wasn't heavy enough - so the Battery Grip MB-21 is made from what I think is steel and holds only three AA batteries. One can remove the MB-21, but then the camera is not usable until one replaces it with either an MB-23, which is bigger, or an MB-20 which isn't really a battery grip at all and is correspondingly worth more than the whole camera.
So it didn't really surprise me to have Damo greet the F4 with a pronouncement that it's even more stupid than the D1H.
And yes, I have to agree that it is at times a rather silly camera. But it's also one of the best I've used - primarily because despite it's size and apparent complexity, it's really quite simple to use because it predates sillyness with Command Dials and other multi-function controls. It even has a real shutter speed dial!
Oh, and the interchangeable finders are pretty handy too... means you can do sneaky stuff like this.
f/2.8 | EI 1600 | 35 mm
135 Kodak T-MAX 400 (TMY2) at EI 1600 in Agfa Rodinal 1:25
Nikon F4 | Nikon AI Nikkor 35mm 1:2
160-S10/015E1
Recently I've taken to judging the figurative value of my cameras using Damo's opinion as the prime measure. He is usually quite close to the mark; it was he, for example, who stated that the D1H is "the world's most stupid camera".
A while after that I acquired the F4 with which I made this photograph. It is by no means a small camera; it is equal in size, and pretty close in weight as well, to a Kiev 60. The majority of this size and weight seem to be used for nothing other than storage for motors, and the batteries with which they are driven. Indeed it seems that Nikon carved the body from a block of magnesium alloy and then decided it wasn't heavy enough - so the Battery Grip MB-21 is made from what I think is steel and holds only three AA batteries. One can remove the MB-21, but then the camera is not usable until one replaces it with either an MB-23, which is bigger, or an MB-20 which isn't really a battery grip at all and is correspondingly worth more than the whole camera.
So it didn't really surprise me to have Damo greet the F4 with a pronouncement that it's even more stupid than the D1H.
And yes, I have to agree that it is at times a rather silly camera. But it's also one of the best I've used - primarily because despite it's size and apparent complexity, it's really quite simple to use because it predates sillyness with Command Dials and other multi-function controls. It even has a real shutter speed dial!
Oh, and the interchangeable finders are pretty handy too... means you can do sneaky stuff like this.
f/2.8 | EI 1600 | 35 mm
135 Kodak T-MAX 400 (TMY2) at EI 1600 in Agfa Rodinal 1:25
Nikon F4 | Nikon AI Nikkor 35mm 1:2